AFC South: End of September Report

As the first month of the season draws to a close, we take a look at the Texans and the rest of the competition in the AFC South and assign grades to each team (note: all statistics are based on numbers before Monday Night Football was completed):

Houston Texans (2-1): B

So far Brock Osweiler has been inconsistent, but still a step above what the Texans had at quarterback last season. His four interceptions are concerning, but he has shown that he can hit the big plays to DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. The offense looks much better than it did last season.

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The defense is the bright spot of the team again. Even without a fully healthy J.J. Watt so far, they kept the Chiefs out of the end zone and allowed just 14 points against the Bears. As far as what happened in New England on Thursday, let’s hope it was just the team was not ready to play. However, it does make you wonder what is going on the with the run defense.

The Patriots had absolutely no running game last season, but they ran for 185 yards on the Texans last week (average of 4.7 per carry). This looked like the potential achilles heel for the Texans coming into the season and without Brian Cushing for an extended length of time, things could get dicey. They already are not looking good because through three games the Texans are giving up over 125 yards per game on the ground and are third last in the league in yards per carry allowed at 4.8.

I can’t say that it’s been all bad so far, but there are still areas of concern going forward.